and the winner is...

Had a great time last night with a few of our dear friends coming over to my house for my annual Oscars party. Of course I'd had the master plan in my head and brought it to life with my Costco shopping -- chili, pasta salad, chips and dip, a veggie tray, and a variety of deserts (cream puffs, mini brownies, and fist-sized strawberries). Thank God for Costco. Makes this non-cooking girl appear to be domesticated.

TVs blaring in both the living room and kitchen, it was fun to see groups of our friends meet for the first time. And it's no Oscar party unless there's voting ballots, so I made sure everyone took a few moments to mark down their choices before we were too far into the awards. I'd been able to get a plaque from work that was outdated, and repurposed it for the "winner", complete with an old MP3 player -- a discarded trade show tchotshke from the storage closet.

Lots of wine, lots of food and a healthy sense of competition as we all vied for the coveted prize. I, of course, was attempting to "shoot the moon" when about halfway into the awards show, not a single one of my guesses had been right. As the show ran long, folks started to leave, but Christoph was the die hard, staying put until every single category had been announced and miraculously, he came out in front with the highest number of correct answers.

Toward the end of the party, we let the doggies back into the house. And was in hysterics to find that Zoe had somehow managed to pull off her precious doggie sweater while in the crate. Not sure how Miss Houdini managed that. I suspect she needed some help from Beaux. I wish I'd had a video camera in there just to see how that all went down. Alas, it will continue to be a mystery to me how this dog could slink out of a fur-tight sweater, pull it over her head, and unhinge from her legs without a rip, tear or shred.

Christoph and Kelli were the last to leave, and so as he gathered up his trophy and gift, along with a healthy serving of cream puffs, they left for the night.

But only for just a moment.

He was locked out of his car. Yes, he had the keys, but the keys wouldn't let him unlock the car -- remote or in the door. Quite the conundrum considering that he'd parked right in front of my garage door and it was getting to be near 11 pm.

Fortunately I was sober and figured that with some masterful maneuvering, I could get my Jeep out of the garage. And so we made our way across town to Magnolia to drop off Christoph and Kelli. His car still parked cockeyed in front of my garage. Boy, that sucks for him.

Rick and I came back home, and headed straight for the kitchen. Just a few more things to put away and then I was turning in. We scooted up to bed just to see the clock showing almost 1 am.

I think I need to petition the Academy to move the Oscars to a Saturday night. This Sunday night entertaining is exhausting. :)